


Soldiers and Summoners

by xSpookyScarySkeletonsx



Series: Hollow Fears to far Chances [2]
Category: Thief (Video Games)
Genre: an ancient sect, and lots of other fun things, primal energy stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-20
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-12-04 13:47:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11556468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xSpookyScarySkeletonsx/pseuds/xSpookyScarySkeletonsx
Summary: Being a thief is dangerous. Especially when you get yourself mixed up in a battle for ancient power. But in between old friends and new enemies, who can you trust?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to Soldiers and Summoners, aka the second part of House of Wolves. As you can see I'm not very good with consistent titles but if you haven't read House of Wolves yet you should probably do that first! 
> 
> Anyway, let's hope this isn't going to take me two years to complete again haha. I'm currently a couple of chapters ahead so I will hopefully be posting new chapters at least once a week (for the time being). 
> 
> I will be updating tags & warnings as we go along!
> 
> Fast forward about 4 years from where House of Wolves left off, about a month post-game.

Garrett grimaced when he woke up. It was late, the moon already high in the sky. Not really worth getting dressed and going out anymore now. It had been like this ever since Erin had disappeared. At first he had told himself he just needed some time to heal. But even now, a whole month later, he still found it hard to stay awake for more than a few hours at a time. The days just seemed to drift by, blurring together in a foggy haze, turning into weeks.  
The only times he really went out was to find some food, along with the occasional visit to Basso or the Queen of Beggars. While Garrett had never craved company before, things had changed since the thing with Erin. Garrett would have never admitted it to anyone else, but he supposed things did get a bit lonely sometimes. So much had happened, it was hard to process. Usually he just ignored these things, will them away until they were gone or buried so deep that he forgot they were there. But this just didn't want to go away. Garrett had quickly realized that he had absolutely no idea how to even process anything. So eventually he had started seeing Basso and, when he had felt like venturing out a little more, the Queen of Beggars. Just to take his mind off things for a little while. But Basso had been trying so hard to pretend nothing had ever happened. Too hard. Meanwhile the Queen of Beggars was still speaking in riddles and Garrett found that he had lost the patience to deal with them.  
At some point he had tried to go on a job, only to quickly realize he just wasn't up for it. It was starting to drive him crazy. He had read every single book he owned. Multiple times. He had repaired all his gear and fletched so many arrows that he had actually run out of space to put them. And that despite the fact that he was only awake for a few hours every day.

At some point he must have drifted off to sleep again. When he woke up the sun was just about to rise. Groaning he forced himself out of bed. He was so tired still. But he had already slept too much and his back hurt from spending so much time laying down. He needed to move to stay in shape.

A few minutes later he was already climbing along the various crossbeams of the clocktower, ignoring the slight tremor in his arms. The gears of the clock needed some work, too. He'd do that later on. Maybe it was time to clean his display cases as well? Garrett squinted at the glass, trying to see how dusty it was from his position on a crossbeam at the other side of the clocktower. Then he shrugged. Might as well clean it. Not like he had anything better to do.

 

  
While Garett was struggling to find things to do, Elijah was suffering from the opposite problem. There was so much to do, his days didn't seem to have enough hours to get everything done. Business had been difficult without Lyn and he had to work twice as hard. And now his new best thief had been captured by the watch. Usually a little corruption went a long way, but with Harlan's hate for anything to do with thieves things were more difficult than that. Of course Elijah had tried anyway, only to have it backfire on him. Harlan had decided that Jerry would hang the following day instead of the following week. Elijah had cursed at the news. Then he had tried to dig up some dirt on Harlan. There was plenty of dirt, but it was all out in the open anyway. Everyone knew Harlan was collecting black tax from anyone he deemed fit to pay. Yet he had refused to release a thief for a bit of extra coin.  
And anyway, why did Jerry even need him to get out of jail? It had never been an issue with Lyn. The last time she had been captured, she had showed up in Elijah's shop the next day, saying that _'prisons really aren't what they used to be'._ Damn, he missed that ratbag.

At first Elijah had tried to find out what had happened to Lyn. He knew that things had gone wrong during the diamond job. But he had never worked out the specifics. It had taken all of his connections and every favour anyone owed him to find out that it hadn't just been Lyn and Garrett that night. Garrett's protégé had been there as well. But that was all he had been able to find out. He had moved on for a while, but in the last year things had gotten pretty bad. Ironically the two people who had been there the night Lyn died had been involved.  
From what Elijah knew Erin was gone. Garrett on the other hand... Well, it wasn't like anyone ever _saw_ Garrett, but being a fence Elijah usually heard about his heists. There hadn't been any lately.

Elijah shook his head in an attempt to get rid of the distracting thoughts. He couldn't afford to get carried away like that. Frowning he looked down at the ancient book in his hands one last time. Then he heard the door creak open and watched a figure clad in a long dark robe enter.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: I'm going to update once a week.   
> Also me: It's been two days, time for another chapter.

Basso grumbled to himself as he shifted through his paperwork. With the thief-taker general's ridiculous black-tax he actually had to keep track of where all his coin was going, just so he had enough left over to pay the damn tax and keep his fingers. Or his life. He wasn't quite sure which one of the various threats he was meant to believe. Right now things didn't look very good for him. There was no way he was going to get enough coin together to pay by the end of the week. Well, there was one way. But Basso didn't like his chances. He had seen Garrett a handful of times since the whole thing with Erin had blown over, but he didn't look like he was up for any kind of job. He hadn't asked either. Admittedly, that worried Basso more than the man's unhealthy appearance. Whenever he showed up he seemed nervous and unsettled and not quite sure why he was there either. Basso decided there was no use worrying. As long as Garrett still had the energy to pry open his window and climb in that way rather than just use the blasted door, there was no reason to worry. But the moment he'd come in through a door Basso would find a doctor.

But still, he was surprised that Garrett kept showing up when there really was no reason for him to do so. While Basso knew that the thief preferred being by himself, he couldn't help but to wonder if he had started feeling a bit lonely lately. Why else did he keep showing up?

 

If Garrett had known how close Basso was to the truth, he would have been mortified. Lucky for him he hadn't picked up on the various clues. He was just confused every time Basso asked him if he was bored.

Tonight, he really was just bored though. Earlier in the day he had worked through his list of things to do. Then he had been so exhausted that he had decided to have a quick nap. His 'quick nap' had turned into a solid five hours of sleep. Now he was wide awake just before midnight. Of course he was normally awake at this time of the night, but he usually had things to do. But everything there was to do he had already done earlier on in the day and going out was still out of the question. He was far too shaky and weak, his arms still sore from his earlier climbing session through the beams of the clocktower.

Half an hour later Garrett found himself at the window leading to Basso's 'office'. For a moment he stopped and debated if he really should enter. Then he shrugged and pried the window open.  
Basso was focused on counting a pile of coin. There were plenty of small stacks around him, precariously balanced on any free spot on his desk. He knocked one of them with his elbow and the coins fell down, noisily clattering onto the floor. Basso grumbled as he picked them up.  
'Tax time?' Garrett asked when the man had straightened back up. Basso jerked and knocked over three more piles of coin.  
'Look what you've made me do!' he yelled out.  
'I didn't _make_ you do anything.'  
Swearing under his breath, Basso bent down again to retrieve the coins. He was breathing heavily when he came back up.  
'What are you doing here anyway? Looking for a job?'  
'Depends on what you've got,' Garrett replied. Not that he was up for it, but he sure as hell wouldn't admit that to Basso.  
'Let me see... Ah, something nice and easy. Stealing a pen.'  
'I'm not stealing a pen _again_.' Garrett decided to ignore the 'nice and easy' part.  
'Think you're too good for that? How about this one, then. Some noble is looking for a diary.'  
'A diary?' the thief repeated incredulously.  
'Yes, it was his lover's or something. They got found out and his lover's wife decided to get rid of her husband. Now the noble guy is looking for the diary. Willing to pay a small fortune.'  
Garrett looked at Basso with the most bored expression he could possibly muster.  
'I guess that's a no? You're a picky one tonight. Alright, final offer.' Basso pulled the front page of yesterday's paper from somewhere and put it in front of Garrett. Something about preparations for a ball that was supposed to be held tonight, to celebrate the disappearance of the gloom. Like the nobles had anything to do with that. The part that caught Garrett's attention was that one of the richest families in the city was supposed to attend. They hardly ever showed themselves in public and were sure to bring their best jewelry. Any other time Garrett would have already been there yesterday to watch the preparations happen and plan his heist. But now it didn't seem very appealing and Garrett was quite sure he'd just get himself killed anyway.  
He passed the paper back to Basso. The man frowned down at his coins but didn't say anything. By the time he looked up to ask what was going on, Garrett was already gone.

Back out in the alley Garrett paused to take a deep breath. He wasn't sure what to do with himself, or how to ever make himself feel better again. For a moment he didn't pay attention and when he turned around he bumped into something. _Someone._  
Garrett tensed and was just about to run when the figure clad in a long dark coat spoke.  
'Pardon me, sir.'  
The soft voice sounded familiar but he couldn't quite work out who it reminded him of.  
When the person moved past him he caught a glimpse of watery blue eyes and a strand of red hair.  
No.  
There was no way this could be real. He was seeing things again. Then he spun around and grabbed for the dark coat.


	3. Chapter 3

Elijah sighed as he opened a bottle of wine. He had somehow managed to keep Harlan from hanging Jerry. To be fair Jerry had been pretty beaten up and it was going to be a while until he would be able to work again. But it was better than him being dead. Elijah was just about to pour his wine into a glass when he heard a scratching noise coming from his shop. He paused for a moment, then shrugged. Probably that stupid stray cat that kept harassing him. Nothing to worry about.

Finally he poured himself his well deserved glass of wine. But he didn't get any further. There was another noise and this time it sounded an awful lot like a whisper. Elijah got up, grumbling to himself. Then he stepped through the curtain that led to his shop.

Moonlight fell through the windows, illuminating the room and Elijah could very clearly make out the two people stood at the far side of his shop, their features hidden by long coats. While Elijah wasn't quite sure what to make of it, he wasn't easily intimidated either.  
'If you're here for the tax, you're too early. And if you want something else you'll have to come back tomorrow. We're closed.'  
There was a moment of silence before the person at the front pulled their hood down, revealing choppy red hair. Elijah couldn't believe his eyes for a moment, staring at a person he had thought was dead for the last four years. Then he shot across the room to hug Lyn. She flinched a little when he wrapped his arms around her tightly but didn't back away.  
'I thought you were dead,' he mumbled. He couldn't help but to repeat the words like a mantra, over and over again. Then the tears came. Elijah was fully aware of the fact that he had turned into a blubbering idiot but he didn't care.

Eventually he calmed down and let go of Lyn. 'Where have you been?'  
She looked down at the dusty floorboards and shrugged. Elijah took a moment to study her.  
Back in the day her hair had been long enough to reach well past her shoulders, but now it barely reached her chin. She looked so tired, the dark circles under her eyes almost black and a stark contrast to her pale skin. Elijah wasn't sure if it was possible but she seemed even thinner now than she had been back then, her cheekbones oddly pronounced. The shuffling noise of cloth behind her reminded Elijah that someone else was here.  
'Who's your friend?' he asked.  
Lyn turned around and nodded at the stranger. 'It's alright.'  
They took their hood off as well, revealing long brown hair and light brown skin.  
'This is Serelia,' Lyn introduced her. The woman inclined her head. Elijah thought for a moment. He himself had come to the city at a young age. But he hadn't been born here and he still knew how to recognize someone from his own country.  
'You're from Astrye.'  
She looked back up at him. 'Kagarli,' she specified.  
While Astrye was considered a country, it was far more complex than that. The different regions all had their own traditions and rituals and were very much like small countries themselves. But most importantly, they had their own leaders. Every region picked one leader to represent them. Together the leaders formed the high council, representing the country. Which wasn't always easy, considering they were all from different cultural backgrounds and found it hard to agree on anything. The Kagarli were the inhabitants of one of the larger regions. They were known to be a modern, forwards-thinking society. Elijah had never met one of them in the City, which made him question how Lyn had come by a Kagarli. But he didn't get to ask.  
'I need your help,' Lyn said softly, bringing Elijah's attention back to her.  
'Wait a minute... You disappear for four years and then you think you can just show back up and ask for my help?'  
Lyn watched him but didn't say anything. She seemed completely unfazed but behind her Serelia couldn't hide her worried expression.  
'What do you need?' Elijah asked eventually.  
'Do the Astryen ships still come here?'  
Elijah nodded.  
'Do you still know the Captain?'  
He nodded again.  
'I need you to get them to take Serelia home.'  
Elijah blinked at her. 'Why?'  
'I don't have time for this. Will you do it or not?'  
'Fine. But they're leaving tomorrow so you'll have to wait for them to come back next week.'  
'No.' Lyn shook her head. 'She has to be on the ship tomorrow.'  
'It's almost midnight.'  
'You'd better hurry up and get this sorted out, then.'

Lyn hadn't meant to be rude and demanding. She knew it was a lot to ask but she had to get Serelia on that ship as soon as possible. For now she didn't have any time to waste explaining what was going on. Maybe once she knew Serelia was safe.

It didn't take Elijah long to work things out and he was back within an hour.  
'He agreed to do it, but only if you pay him.'  
'Do you trust him?'  
Elijah frowned at her. 'Are you in any position to ask that?'  
Lyn looked over at Serelia, who had fallen asleep some time ago. Admittedly she didn't want to send her anywhere by herself but she didn't have a choice. And Serelia was able to look after herself.  
'I've got the payment,' she said eventually.  
'Just tell me what's going on. Are you being followed?'  
Lyn nodded slowly.  
'Wouldn't it be safer for you to leave as well, then?'  
'I will. On the next ship.'  
'Why not tomorrow?'  
She suppressed a sigh. 'There's something I have to do first.'  
This time Elijah didn't question her.  
'Can you look after Serelia? I'll be back soon.'


	4. Chapter 4

It was cold outside, much colder than what Lyn was used to now. She pulled the hood of her cloak over her head again. Luckily the streets were mostly deserted. Not that there was much left of them. It would have been easier to just climb, but she couldn't risk anyone seeing her. At least not in a suspicious way. Currently she was just another passerby. Hopefully she'd manage not to attract any attention.

A few minutes later she found that her thoughts had drifted off. She was anxious for the day ahead of her. There were so many things that could go wrong... Lyn knew there was no point worrying because she couldn't do anything about it. But it didn't stop her thoughts. She was lucky that the layout of the city hadn't changed much and her feet carried her where she wanted to be while her mind was somewhere else. Soon she found herself near the crippled burrick. Lyn ducked into the alleyway and stayed in the shadows along Basso's windows, keeping her head down. With her vision limited she didn't notice that she wasn't alone until someone bumped into her.   
'Pardon me, sir,' she mumbled before she side-stepped the person.  
But suddenly there was a hand on her wrist pulling her back and spinning her around. Lyn flinched, then pulled herself together. She was ready to punch the person in the face and run when she saw the familiar features. Well, familiar apart from the massive scar and the different colour in one eye.  
'Oh, it's you.' She paused for a moment. 'I bet you thought you'd seen the last of me.'  
Garrett blinked at her. Then he let go of her wrist.   
'No. You're dead.'  
'Do I look dead to you?'   
He did in fact look at her like he'd seen a ghost. But Lyn didn't have time to deal with this. Not if she wanted to stay alive.   
'I have to go...' She felt like she needed to add something, some sort of goodbye, but she couldn't think of anything. Instead she turned around and left.   
Time to focus on the task ahead. She could only hope that Basso would be as willing to help her as Elijah had been.

Lyn decided this was probably a good time to come through the door for once. She didn't really want to scare poor Basso to death. He had always been a bit jumpy.   
Pausing outside his door, Lyn bit her bottom lip. Then she pulled her hood off. She knocked on the door before pushing it open.   
'Who the hell...,' Basso trailed off when he saw her.  
There was a long awkward pause in which he shot to his feet, his eyes widening before they narrowed again.  
'You gotta be kidding me,' he said then, incredulously.   
'I need your help.'   
Basso shook his head. 'You're meant to be dead.'   
'Looks like I'm not.'   
He stared at her and Lyn crossed her arms in front of her chest.   
'Where have you been?'   
'Around.'   
His mouth opened like he was trying to say something. Then he shut it again.   
'Can we do this another day?' she asked. 'I need some information.'  
'You paying?'  
She was almost glad that he had asked. It meant that he was ready to get down to business after the initial shock of seeing her alive. 'I will if you can deliver.'  
When she looked around the room Lyn noticed that his bird was gone but she decided not to ask about it.   
'So what do you wanna know?'   
'A carriage arrived this morning. Not from here. A driver and two... passengers. I need to know where the driver is staying.'

Basso tried not to look too surprised. Lyn had just come back from the dead, how did she know about people from out of the City arriving? If she had been here all this time, he would have known so she must have been somewhere else.  
'I can tell you that. But it's not gonna be cheap.' He grinned.   
'You're the devil. I hope you know that.' She dug through the pockets of her coat and passed him two pouches. One was heavy with coin and the other revealed a delicate silver bracelet.   
'Alright then. Let me think... From what I heard, he's staying at the inn on the main street in Greystone. Apparently his passengers disappeared. Offered quite a bit of coin to whoever would bring them back.'   
Lyn laughed soundlessly.   
'Don't tell me you found them.'   
'No.' Lyn shook her head. 'I'm one of them.'

 

Garrett somehow made it back to the clock tower. He couldn't stop shaking. This was not happening. Not again. He was not seeing dead people again. Well, Erin hadn't been dead but he hadn't known that at first. But this was different. Lyn had been gone for years, why was he suddenly seeing her? He had barely even known her. And this time there was no primal to influence him. Or was there? Had he missed something?

No. The gloom was gone and so were the freaks. No more primal. But then why did he have that weird vision? Maybe it had been real. It had certainly felt real. He frowned when he realized he was pacing and forced himself to sit down. From a logical point of view it didn't make sense to see a dead girl. The primal was gone and with it the visions. Or maybe they hadn't been visions at all. Maybe they had really been hallucinations. Was he going crazy?

Garrett was tempted to go back and see Basso again, or maybe go find Elijah. Ask them if they had seen her. But what if they hadn't? He would certainly look like he was losing his mind.


End file.
